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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27879486">Time and Time Again</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account'>orphan_account</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Back to the Future AU (sort of), Bad Matchmaking, F/M, Matchmaking, Not Beta Read, Not Canon Compliant, Time Travel, me big braining: I take my favorite movie... and my hyperfixation... and put em together, stoick/valka/gobber are 20ish in this fic during the past parts, this is gonna be a wild ride, this is marked as having 9 chapters atm but that could change</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 09:21:56</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,811</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27879486</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A comet that only comes around every two decades sends Hiccup and Toothless back in time twenty years. And after inadvertently preventing the meeting of Stoick and Valka, Hiccup has a week before the comet returns to get his parents together, or else cease to exist.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Gobber the Belch &amp; Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III/Astrid Hofferson, Stoick the Vast/Valka</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. A Light Over the Island</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>this takes place when hiccup is 16/17 (I’m leaning towards 17 because that’s how old marty is in BTTF).</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Summer in Berk burnt at a fiery temperature, the kind that exhausts both dragon and rider. Most islanders spent their free time by the water, or lounging at home.</span>
</p><p>Hiccup Haddock spent it in the forge.</p><p>“Third time’s the charm, right, bud?” he said to his dragon, hammering down on a hot piece of metal. Toothless watched intently over his shoulder, impatiently waving his tail. The movement knocked over a barrel of swords, earning him a glare from Gobber, and Toothless wrapped his tail around his legs with an apologetic whine. </p><p>
  <span>Hiccup put down the hammer and patted Toothless on the head. “I’m almost done, okay?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toothless groaned, but he leaned back to give Hiccup his space. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t be working too late today, aye?” Gobber said as he takes off his apron. “The ævi comet’s coming tonight. Don’t wanna miss the festival.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Hiccup said absentmindedly. He’d never been one for astronomy, but the ævi comet only came around every twenty years, so it was something of a novelty. Not to mention the festival: even Astrid, who didn’t like dances, was looking forward to it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gobber looked off into the distance. The sun was just about to dip below the horizon, and dinner was set to start soon. “I remember the last time the ævi comet came,” he said fondly. “That’s when your parents got </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> close.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t want to hear this,” Hiccup said immediately, picking up a wrench. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not like </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Gobber laughed, taking a seat across from Hiccup’s workbench. “I mean they first started to see each other that night. They’d met about a week before…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hiccup put down his tools to listen more intently. Stoick didn’t talk about Valka much, and he hung onto every scrap of information about her that he could. Even Toothless looked interested, head tilted with curiosity. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gobber took their attentiveness as cue to continue. “Stoick was running off to fight a Gronkle that had been stealing the sheep,” he reminisced. “He wasn’t the only one, ‘course, but nobody else scared the thing like he did. Anyway, he was heading there when he ran into your mother. Stoick was expecting her to be apologetic, like everyone else, but Valka wasn’t like the other women on Berk.” Gobber laughed, eyes glazed over with a look of nostalgia. “She started yelling at him to watch where he was going, telling him that just because he was the chief’s son didn’t mean he was exempt from common courtesy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hiccup smiled. Many stories about his mother were like this— she was a bold woman.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, Stoick was so shocked, he asked her to the festival right then and there!” Gobber cried, slapping his leg with his prosthetic. “And she said yes!” He broke into laughter, and Hiccup grinned widely. As Gobber’s laughter died down, he began again. “The rest is history. They danced that night and fell in love.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wow,” Hiccup breathed. “I didn’t know they went to the festival together.” Truthfully, he didn’t know </span>
  <em>
    <span>any</span>
  </em>
  <span> of the story, but he would never have guessed that Stoick had any attachment to the festival. He had barely paid any attention to the planning. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe he didn’t want to think about it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Finish up your work,” Gobber said, standing. “Dinner’s soon.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hiccup nodded, turning back to his workbench. Toothless followed, warbling at Hiccup. “You didn’t really get any of that, did you?” Hiccup asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toothless shook his head. Hiccup smiled. “Don’t worry about it,” he said. “It was a nice story, that’s all.”</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>The festival was in full swing by the time Hiccup arrived. He’d missed dinner working on his project, but there was food aplenty at the festival anyway. As he entered, he swiped an hors d'oeuvre from the snack table and shoved it into his mouth. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I see you’re all dressed up,” Astrid teased, coming up beside him with a smirk. His outfit was the same as always, just with a slightly nicer vest. His hair was still as unruly as ever, and Astrid attempted to straighten it out with little success. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hiccup swatted her hands away. “Come on, I thought you hated these things,” he said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Astrid shrugged. “Usually,” she said, smoothing out her skirt. “But I guess the excitement got to me.” She turned back to Hiccup, holding out her arm.</span>
</p><p>Hiccup linked his with hers and they stepped forward, onto the dance floor. “You know I can’t dance,” Hiccup said. “You’ve seen me try.” </p><p>
  <span>“Relax. We’re not dancing.” Astrid seemed to be looking for something, eyes scanning the party. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s—oh,” Hiccup said, suddenly noticing something. “The flowers!” In nearly every couple, the woman had a flower-covered clip pinned in her hair. It was traditional for the festival, though nobody could quite remember why. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Astrid looked confusedly at Hiccup. “What? No, Hiccup, it’s fine.” But Hiccup had already pulled away, rushing back to his home. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll be right back, promise!” he cried. Astrid was about to yell out to him, her hand raised out, but Hiccup had already vanished over the hill. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Astrid sighed, her hand falling to her side. “I don’t care about the flowers,” she mumbled. </span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>Toothless was jolted from sleep as Hiccup slammed open the door to the Haddock house. He bounded up the stairs, flying into his room. </span>
</p><p>As Hiccup began digging through his drawers, slamming them open and closed at random, Toothless stood, whining questioningly. </p><p>
  <span>“Forgot the flowers,” Hiccup said frantically, still looking through drawers. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toothless huffed, nudging Hiccup in the side. Hiccup looked up, eyes wide. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is it, bud?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toothless nodded toward Hiccup’s desk. On top of it laid the flower clip. Hiccup raced over to it, carefully taking the clip into his hands. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks, Toothless,” he breathed, relaxing slightly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toothless followed his rider out the door, warbling at the clip. It was covered in purple bellflowers, and Hiccup was very careful not to crush any of them as he headed back to the dance. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When the two got outside, Hiccup stopped. “Bud,” he began, staring up at the sky. “Do you see that?” He nudged Toothless in the side. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When Toothless looked up, he saw a star blink across the sky. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Was that the comet?” Hiccup asked, brow furrowed. “That wasn’t supposed come until—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toothless let out a cry as a bright light shone in front of them, and before either could react, the glow had enveloped them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When it faded, the pair were gone. All that was left was the flower clip, dropped on the ground in Hiccup’s surprise. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. An Unforeseen Consequence</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>updates for this fic will be... sporadic. I may update twice a week and then not again for a month. it's just how I roll</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Hiccup blinked. The light had dimmed, and he rubbed at his eyes as stars shone behind them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Toothless, bud, you okay?” he asked. Toothless was blinking as well, confused, but he nodded. Hiccup gave him a comforting pat on the head and bent down to pick up the flower clip. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t there. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, bud, did you see where…” Hiccup trailed off. Having turned around, he noticed that a few things about Berk looked different than he remembered. Namely… “Where’s the house?” Hiccup cried, leaping to his feet. Toothless turned and, noticing the lack of a home, let out a yelp. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, this is not good. Did that thing take our house?” he ran a hand through his hair, messing up what little ministrations Astrid had given it. “Oh, dad is going to </span>
  <em>
    <span>kill me</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toothless nudged Hiccup in the leg, and the boy turned. All the houses by the Haddocks’ were gone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>not good,” Hiccup groaned, falling to a seated position. He wore an expression that Toothless knew meant he was thinking, the gears turning in his head at high speed. “Okay, first step, don’t panic.” He looked up at Toothless. “That one’s more for me than you. Step two, go find dad. He’s at the festival, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toothless nodded. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” Hiccup said, nodding. He pushed himself to his feet. “No problem.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two began to make their way to the hill where the festival was taking place, but then Hiccup stopped, staring at something to their left. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toothless warbled a question. Hiccup pointed to a large pine tree situated where there certainly wasn’t a tree before. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s never been there,” Hiccup said, “and trees don’t just grow overnight. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Something’s</span>
  </em>
  <span> going on, bud.” He became lost in thought, despite Toothless’s nudging, and began making his way back to where the house used to be. Toothless padded after him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hiccup came to an abrupt stop. “The houses,” he said breathlessly, “they cleared this land and built homes here… about twenty years ago,” Hiccup explained, brain struggling to remember his history lessons. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toothless nudged his rider again, questions bubbling in his throat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hiccup looked at him, back at the pine, and back at Toothless. “Bud. The ævi comet. </span>
  <em>
    <span>The comet of time</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Hiccup slapped his palm against his forehead. “Oh, gods. We didn’t.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Still confused, Toothless growled out a question. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Toothless,” Hiccup said, “I think we’re in the past.” Hiccup’s head turned, looking around. “We’re lucky we haven’t been seen. We gotta go.” Hiccup swung himself onto Toothless’s back, and the two took off. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hiccup began to think as they soared over Berk. “The cove,” he said finally. “We can stay there— it should still be uninhabited. Er, have been uninhabited.” Toothless adjusted his course to head for the cove. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The trek was going well. Hiccup kept himself close to Toothless, in case the two should be spotted (something </span>
  <em>
    <span>nobody</span>
  </em>
  <span> wanted). </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Unfortunately, life had a funny way of hating Hiccup. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Night fury!” someone cried, and Hiccup heard a shocked yelp. He swore he recognized the voice, and risked a glance over… </span>
</p><p>
  <span>To see </span>
  <em>
    <span>his father</span>
  </em>
  <span> running away from his mother at high speed. “Oh, gods,” Hiccup said. “We gotta go. Higher, bud.” Toothless ascended, hiding the pair in the clouds. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe it didn’t change much?” Hiccup said hopefully. “C’mon, let’s get to the cove. We can figure things on the ground.” Toothless nodded, and the two continued their previous course. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Landing in the cove, Hiccup dismounted Toothless and glanced around. It looked the same as it would about twenty years later. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” Hiccup said. “We may have just stopped my parents from meeting. Which means we may have just prevented my existence.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toothless warbled nervously at that. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, not the best of circumstances,” Hiccup sighed, sitting down and leaning against Toothless. “But it’s only a possibility.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As if on cue, Hiccup felt a deep shiver run through his body. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toothless let out a cry of surprise and leapt to his feet as Hiccup vanished. He reappeared a second later, falling onto his back without Toothless to support him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Agh—! Toothless, what…” Hiccup trailed off. He looked at his hands. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The tips of his fingers had become opaque. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hiccup sat up, and Toothless leaned over his shoulder. Both stared at the vanishing fingers in shocked silence.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Finally, Hiccup spoke. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s not good.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>sorry this chapter is so short! next one will be longer, this is all just setup, basically</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>the bellflower means (in floral language) “unwavering love”. (according to wikipedia.) and ævi means time (according to the norse translator I found). </p><p>this is definitely not canon compliant. I mean, it’s a back to the future AU, but also, I remember nothing about canon. </p><p>also, add this to the list of “extremely niche fics that appeal to a very small portion of the fanfic-readers of this fandom.” it joins my single magnus archives fic about a character literally nobody else remembers, my mst3k found family trope fic, and my she loves me modern AU. if you’ve this and any of those, congrats! your interests are as weird and varied as mine. some of you may also remember my other fics in this fandom, though I think those were written back when my username was still “cartoonygirl.” if you read those, hi! what’s up?</p></blockquote></div></div>
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